Are You Prepared Against Organized Evil-Light shed on MS-13?

By Kellene, Preparedness Pro on 14 December 2009 - 1:41pm

Author’s Note: Most of this content was posted earlier this year. However, news as of late has caused us to tweak the story and repost it.

As I’ve shared with you previously, I’m not one who is keen on the phrase “Emergency Preparedness.” I believe in preparedness, pure and simple, and thus being self-reliant. Whether it be today or in the future as the result of some social breakdown, I feel that it’s important to understand what organized evil exists

out there so that you can make an educated decision as to how you will defend yourself. I’m speaking specifically of the highly organized and militant gangs here in the U.S.

Keep in mind that whether it’s today or tomorrow, dealing with gangs is something we have to do whether we like it or not. For some they are simply a prophetic fulfillment of the “latter days.” For others they are a force that’s to be reckoned with by “someone else.” And to others they are simply something we see portrayed on television. Unfortunately though, the presence of gangs and their unthinkable violence is very real. And yes, they’ve even infiltrated a city near you. One of the very worst of these modern replications of organized crime groups is MS-13.

MS-13 is not an obscure gang.

In fact, the FBI defines them as the most organized crime entity in the U.S. They are feared not solely because of their horrific violent acts, but due to their organization. They specifically target middle and high schools for recruitment's. They have no compunction towards committing violent acts upon their fellow citizens, as they fear no repercussions. Their greatest criminal focuses are on human and drug trafficking, and contract killing combined with unspeakable violence. A crime will never be committed by one of these members without it being accompanied by a beating, a rape, murder, dismemberment, or all of the above. They also have known ties and alliances to Al-Queda.

MS-13 is otherwise known as Mara Salvatrucha. Visual evidence of their presence in your area will be manifested by graffiti in your area that says “MS,” “Mara,” or “MS-13.”

Their violent organized traits stem from the fact that the majority of their founders are well trained in guerilla warfare in El Salvador. As such they possess a level of methodical training and skill set that rivals any other gang. Their initiation requirements are bloodcurdling. After enduring a slow 13 count beating—minimum—the inductee must then commit a violent act by either a beating, a rape, or a murder prior to being accepted. If the inductee fails in their efforts within 13 hours, then they are murdered in order that the MS-13 does not get marginalized by “incompetents.” (If you are a female inductee, the right of passage would include an obligatory gang rape). The more violent they are, the more elevated they are among their “military” crime group. One MS-13 member claimed during questioning by the FBI, “The crazier you are known to be, the more respect the gang gives you.” On November 26, 2008, Jonathan Retana was convicted of the murder of Miguel Angel Deras, which the authorities linked to an MS-13 initiation.

As further evidence of their organizational skills, there is a unique communication which takes place among them. Gang "signs" are also used by MS-13 including the infamous "devil horns" sign which gang members "throw" to signify their ownership of their turf. (Such sign is also a common communication between members of the Illuminati.) The devil horn sign, when turned upside down, forms the letter "M". Members also use multiple hand signals to communicate. Known as "stacking", these signs can be used to indicate their clique or to coordinate an attack. Pulling up on the shoulders of the shirt indicates an imminent attack while rubbing the belly indicates a shooting. A brush on the left shoulder indicates a stabbing attack. One of the defining factors of MS-13 is their absolute intolerance for anyone who informs the police of their activities. Court papers in Nassau County detail recorded telephone conversations where a MS-13 member bragged how he had put a stop to an informant - "I put one in the chest and three in the head."

MS-13 Gang Protocol

Once a member is brought into the gang, they are in for life. They cannot act without the boss's consent - they cannot kill without reason, cannot talk to the police, cannot skip gang meetings, nor can they leave the gang. MS-13 has no tolerance for gang members who drop out. A MS-13 member and even their family members must die in order to exit MS-13, no exceptions. On May 13, 2006, Ernesto "Smokey" Miranda, an ex-high ranking soldier and one of the founders of the Mara Salvatrucha, was murdered at his home in El Salvador a few hours after declining to attend a party for a gang member who had just been released from prison. Not only had he offended his “brothers” for not attending the party, but he had threatened dissent by studying law and working to keep children out of gangs.

The majority of these gang members are in the country illegally. As such they are deported regularly. Going along with the fact that MS-13 members can’t simply get out, the much reported incident of Edward Guzman, a 14 year old MS-13 member, proves the more significant punishment of deportation. Guzman left Guatemala to escape the gang lifestyle. He illegally came to the U.S. At the age of 16, on March 10, 2004, he was deported back to his home. He hid in his home for several days. His first day to venture out was March 20, 2004. He made it only 5 blocks where he was shot multiple times. MS-13 grudges never die.

Wikipedia mistakenly states that this gang originated in Los Angeles. In fact they originated in El Salvador and were the largest formalize gang there. The gangs then infiltrated the Los Angeles area as it was already rampant with a gang culture. While they originally consisted of Salvadorans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, and Nicaraguans, their desired “market” penetration has forced them to take on any Central American individual who can suitably pass their initiation and subsequent performance requirements. Their targets are indiscriminate so long as they can wreak horror and obedience to their reign in their communities. Case in point, in the minds of an MS-13 member, the term “road rage” means nothing to them. It is their road, and they allow you to drive on it. Obstruction of such rights of passage, means death to the offender. On June 22, 2008, in San Francisco, CA, a 21-year old MS-13 gang member, Edwin Ramos, shot and killed a father, Anthony Bologna, 48, and his two sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, after their car briefly blocked Ramos from completing a left turn down a narrow street.

In spite of their cache of firearms which makes a police force look like a one-man hillbilly stockpile, most MS-13 members are adept and fond of the use of a machete.

They are not a criminal gang so much as they are much more focused on political power. As such they have been ordered to focus on eliminating border patrol guards along the Arizona border as it interferes with their money-making activities. (see: Washington Times article and Daily Bulletin article) In Honduras, MS-13 kidnapped in their home country of El Salvador. They were able to execute a son of the Honduras President Ricardo Maduro after kidnapping and torturing him (1997). All over Central America, their acts of death and defiance are intended to taunt government officials. Members also left a dismembered corpse with a note for the Honduras president that “more people will die… the next victims will be police and journalists.” In 2004, Guatemalan President Oscar Berger received a similar messages attached to the body of a dismembered man from MS-13 members. As such, this gang operates with no fear of government reprisals. Since they were able to sufficiently overcome any such consequences with their own Salvadoran government, every country, state, and community they enter they do so with the same haughty view of the Laws ability to deliver suitable consequences. They do not fear a prison sentence. Rather they return to their gangs upon release as an elevated veteran. Thus there are uninhibited in the horror of their criminal acts.

They have permeated every state in the U.S. sufficiently. Even our nation’s capital holds no resistance for them. In fact, they flaunt the fact that they are the strongest gang in the D.C. area. In northern Virginia and southern Maryland, around the Washington DC area, local authorities estimate MS-13 membership to be between 5,000 and 6,000 members. In July of 2003, the Washington DC area encountered three known murders attributed to MS-13. The first was the murder of a federal informant. The second was the shooting death of a 17 year old boy. The third was the death of a 16 year old boy who had both of his hands completely chopped off.

In Dec. of 2004 in Honduras, a local MS-13 chapter stopped a traveling bus mostly filled with women and children and sprayed it with automatic gunfire. No robbery was attempted. No rape or kidnapping. Simply murder and mayhem which resulted in the death of 28 persons. Their motive was to cause horror in the government as indicated by a note left behind promising the government that more killings of this nature would take place. (A signature threat among MS-13 members)

So why should YOU be concerned about them? Because they are yet one more aspect of a realistic potential situation for which you need to be prepared. Do not underestimate their violence. You will not be able to reason with them. You will not be able to give them what they want and have them simply go away. Horrific violence is at their very core. You will need to be mindful of them and to defend yourself appropriately. You can be assured that in spite of their organization “skills” they will not be prepared for any type of an emergency scenario, thus they will use their gang to prey upon the preparedness efforts of others. As such, you must indeed be prepared to defend your home, family, and supplies against these modern-day pirates.

After the Virginia Tech massacre, aided in part by the passivity of the victims, one pro-2nd amendment commentator said that schooling had trained these students to be passive in the face of aggression. He further said that on their part there should have been "rage and fingernails".
I've taken that counsel to heart; unless an intruder exits as rapidly as he/she can, my "rage and fingernails" response will be with a shotgun and will end in serious wounds and/or death. No negotiation.
It is terribly sad that we have to be ready with a swift, potentially fatal response when our predilection is for peace. But we face evil now which has no morals, no remorse. And there's no way to tell between a kid just after stuff to sell for a few bucks and a gang member with murder in his heart.

As a former big-city cop of 11 years, I guarantee you - these gang members are not human. They will show you no sympathy, no understanding, no care. When encountered, your very existence is wrong to them and they will be angered by you breathing their air. YOU MUST BE PREPARED TO DEFEND YOURSELF AT ALL COSTS. There is no movie or TV show that portrays these demons realistically. Simply put, they do not feel, do not care, and will not stop until they, or you, are dead. Self defense is a God-given right, not a government granted privilege to be withheld because politicians become afraid of the people who elected them. We must protect it with all our might. Thank you Kellene for the great article!

Thanks, Kellene, for this important and sobering post. I've considered myself a reasonably savvy person, but this organized gang perspective, and its possible SHTF implications, is entirely new for me. Wikipedia references an estimated 100,000 members. Yikes. I was a far left liberal in a previous lifetime, and never imagined that I'd one day be training with firearms and applying for my own CCW permit.

Thank you for bringing up this timely subject.
Although far removed from this type of thing (for now anyway), I have been "watching" these gangs for quite a while. I have informed my friends and family in the cities of the gangs presence. Most of their replies are of the "not in my area" type. Life will not be easy for them.
I'm trained very well to protect my family, my country, and myself.
Encourage others to be.

Otherwise knowledgeable survivalists write of gangs as if it were 1955, "wayward youth" on motorcycles that *gasp* exhibit bad manners and *gasp* push the locals around and smoke marijuana in public. They imagine that, come a collapse of civil order, these imaginary Brando-style delinquents will commit *gasp* shakedowns, maybe even armed holdups. They have no idea. Thanks for the article. By the way, in case some may think you're scare-mongering, I've spent a fair amount of time in their home grounds, Juarez and the like, your readers should be thankful for what you've spared them. It beggars the imagination.

One of the problems I have with this topic is no solution. Talk of EMP, famine, drought, flood, winter storm, all end up with a solution and how you are preparing for it. With the topic of Gangs I never see any suggestions on how to deal. Simply being armed is not a solution. What is a family suppose to do against a dozen or so gang members our for blood? Clearly even if you are able to kill them off before they get you, more will just come.

You could try to lay low but really they will be like locusts going from one house to another. Locked houses will offer more reward so they will do what is needed to get in.

Seriously, what are we suppose to do?

To my knowledge we don't have these types of gangs near us, within 1.5 hrs, there isn't much serious crime where we are. That doesn't mean it won't come eventually.

What does it take to make a house bullet resistant? I'm learing that walls are about as effective as paper when it comes to stopping bullets.

Hey Todd, I'm sorry that my posts as of late have made you feel a bit futile. I do believe in things a bit differently than you've expressed them though. As I've shared in a previous post, there's not a darn thing that I can do if an earthquake decides to take me out. But at least I will have progressed to the other side knowing that I did ALL that I could do to be prepared, be self-reliant, and to provide for my fellow men. Remember, preparedness is as much about obedience as it is about survival.
Regarding being prepared for gangs, I assure you that no one home will have to take on an "army" of gangs. That's simply not how they operate. But let's say that there are 12 of them. Having a firearm is useless if you don't know how to use it and have the mental fortitude to use it. But WHICH firearm you use is critical in such a scenario as well. I wouldn't be using my Glock in such a scenario. I would give myself distance with the use of an effective rifle. (I personally love shooting the AR-15. It's phenomenally accurate and takes very little effort to use.) No gang banger will be match for something of that sort.
As for that house, I believe that your entire comment has shown tht I need to write a more detailed article on this sort of thing. I'll give you guys a break from the heavy stuff for a day or two and then do so. :-)

I didn't mean to come off that way. The article is good and important to understand. I think sometimes I forget that not everyone is like me. I'm already prepared mentally to defend my family. I forget that there are still folks out there who don't own a gun, can't picture using it for defense. Also I've been bombarded of Gang talk as of late. Most of it is about how terrible they are but no one talks about tactics or methods to prepare for if they come.

So when I read the article or have people talk about gangs I take the info in with the assumption that everyone already has the weapons part down. that is my fault.

One of the problems with the internet is that those of us who are not professional writers do not always come across the way we intend. Dealing with Organized gangs isn't something I hear talked about much, I would imagine that it really would require some sort of organized defense..

I read your blog everyday and generally only add a comment if I think it will help. I'm still not sure I see what you mean about interest, but that is ok. Whether I understand or not I'm already taking those steps.

Wow! I read that last night before bed, therefore did not sleep well. It really got me thinking and was a wake up call! We are surrounded by gangs (Fresno, Ca) but most of the stories here are gang on gang related. I have fooled myself into thinking we are "probably okay". I realized we need to really protect our home better. Hubby and I are "talking guns" but there's been no action, yet. This has motivated me to get with it. Ironically, last night my husbands office was broken into, The alarm company called at 3 am, and he told them to call the police. It took them 35 minutes to arrive. They apologized but said it was a code 2 call and they were busy on codes 0 and 1.
They also said they are understaffed, burglaries have gone way up, so they are extra busy. We can not depend on them to come save us if we need help.
We must learn and expect to protect ourselves.
After reading your article, I told my husband we truly do not realize the amount of evil that we are surrounded by. I know if our house was broken into, we would then get security doors, system, etc. BUT, we need to do those things NOW, to prevent and protect.
Thank you for this wake up call. It's not pleasant, it's scary as hell, but it may save lives.

I think in a SHTF situation, you will see an end of the PC crap about "poor misguided youth". I think folks will start becoming proactive with their defenses and will likely "take out" strangers "just in case". I am not saying it is a good thing, I just think it would boil down to that. I do think isolated houses would be suceptable to gang attacks.

Seth, I think you are right on there.. People looking like those in the photos won't be around long. I don't know if it has ever been talked bout here, but give some thought to how you will take prisoners. What are you going to do with them if they give up? Odds are the Jail will be full, plus it won't have any food or water.

I'd like both Todd and Seth to be correct in this, I just don't think they are correct.
Polls have shown that the more of health care reform the more they are against it. But to many of our politician seem to say right here right now. Polls don't seem to bother them, It's not democrat or a republican rant it's just they "congressman" no longer represent us, that whole "We the people" they work for us, we don't work for them.
All we want is freedom to pursue our dreams, Right, wrong or indifferent.
Well how do I as a small business man go out and get new customers. We aren't asking for a free ride like you gave the banks and wall street we just want a free and fair shot
Let Capitalism free let it set the market. All the recalls lately have been by simple folks. They aren't trying to free the manufacturers. ALL WE WANT IS A FREE MARKET.
Dammit manufactures can compete. It all this silly nonsense that says we are evil. The US is the most caring folks in the world. No one matches us on
charity.
Chaves declares us evil, well hows that whole government economy going? You can' t even feed your oun people and you would lecture us?

Kellene, I just discovered your blog recently, but I expect to do a lot of "catchup" reading {grin}. However, I do need to point out that while there's no question that MS13 and their fellows are Bad Lads, the head of a Justice Department task force reported in 2005 that

...
the gang has no al-Qaeda connections, despite a suggestion Monday by El Salvador's president that there may be a link.

The FBI, in concert with the U.S. intelligence community and governments of several Central American republics, have determined that there is no basis in fact to support this allegation of al-Qaeda or even radical Islamic ties to MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha)," says Robert Clifford, director of the new task force.
...
USA Today 2005.02.24http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-02-23-gang-salvador_x.htm

Rob, respectfully I'm going to have to disagree with you on this. I recently wrote a white paper on the connection between gangs and Al-Qaeda. I did so after reading 2 books on Islamic cultures as well as their anger that accompanies it. The MS-13 ways, such as their methods of killing, their symbols, and their rankings are definitely influenced by Al-Queda. I also rarely believe ANYTHING I read or hear from a government spokesperson or a mainstream newspaper. In fact, I've seen so much deception in that regard that I usually presume that the opposite is what is really accurate. Just my two cents...which is now only worth .000014 cents, but you'll never hear the government tell ya that either. :-)

Ok bad stuff will happen I think we can agree on that. I hope, Now how do mitigate the hazard? Shutters. Metal shutters, Tape and visquine?
We are all on the same side here. Now we may not have details on stuff, But I'm guessing most folks are seeing stuff go to hell in a hand basket.
So how do fix the problem or at least mitigate it?
Dangit I'll not be all doom an gloom. I may be wrong but I have great faith in Americans.Congress has screwed the pooch on this health care. So what? won't be the first time.
To heck with congress, let's see how far the get in a barter economy?
The Constitution starts off with " We the people" Not we the president, or congress, or the supreme court. It is We the People, provide for the conman defense, promote the general welfare and provide for blessings of liberty for our selves and our prosperity do ordain and establish this constitution for us and the United States of America.
No provided health care, no internet access, no schooling. Those aren't rights provided in the Constitution learning. I can't mandate that you learn.
they work for us, the people.
These are not rights. You must take from another to give to to someone else, If you want us all to be equally poor. I think this is what you want.
The Constitution is clear Congressman and Mr. President, Will you live up to your oath of office?

Hmm...I guess I don't think quite that way. My goal is to be prepared should they choose to use their right to choose in such a manner that it would rob me of my right to choose. God's law is that we all have the right to choose. If they choose wrongly, then they lose that right in view of the consequences.

You can't prepare to fight these people with the mind set of fighting them off after an incident. We have to prepare by understanding that fighting them as civilized people will mean certain defeat. You must deal with them now. They say that this gang has no fear. Not true. Notice how cockroaches run when you turn on the light. Delete enough of them in your A.O. and they WILL shy away from it. We out number them and it's time Americans let them know it.